Lucky to Have You
by unicornhime
Summary: Korra takes care of a drunk Mako, who lets down quite a few of his walls after a few drinks. Makorra fluff.


"Wow, your brother _cannot _hold his liquor, can he?" Korra laughed as she propped Mako up. The firebender was passed out on her shoulder. The three of them were still in a booth at their favorite diner celebrating a great match, and Mako apparently drank a little more than he could handle.

"Nah, he's never been much of a drinker, so when he does indulge, it hits him pretty hard." Bolin shook his head. "We should probably get him home."

"Yeah, working on it. Hey, come on Mako," she whispered in his ear. He twitched, but made no move to get up. "Mako, you've got to wake up so we can get you to bed."

"Yeah Mako," Bolin said cheekily, "You don't want to miss this - Korra's trying to get you in bed."

Korra shot him a dirty look, but he just shrugged. Mako groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "What?" He asked in a daze.

"Let's get you out of here," Korra said, lifting one of his arms over her shoulders and nudging him out of the booth. "I think you're done for the night."

With some teamwork, (and one pitstop for Mako to throw up on the side of the road) Korra and Bolin managed to get him back to their apartment in the arena's attic.

Mako was a surprisingly cooperative drunk, for which Korra was extremely grateful. He obediently crawled into his bed and curled up under the covers while she got him a glass of water.

"Drink this," she commanded, "It'll help you feel a little more human when you wake up. Also you have horrible breath right now."

He absent-mindedly scowled at her but obeyed, throwing his head back and drinking deeply. Korra watched his throat bob as he gulped, amused.

"I feel like I got trampled by a herd of wild elephant rhinos," he moaned.

"Ah, the buzz is wearing off now?"

"No… I still feel… fuzzy."

Korra stifled a laugh. "Fuzzy?"

"Light-headed. Whatever."

"I'm sorry," Korra smiled. "We really need to work on your tolerance levels."

"I'm never drinking again," he deadpanned, knocking back another long gulp of water.

"I highly doubt that." She smirked. "Not if your brother and I have anything to do with it."

"Ugh Bolin. Did he make it back alright?"

"Yeah. In much better shape than you, too, I might add."

"I should check on him," he started to get out from under the sheet, but Korra pressed her hand against his chest.

"Whoa, there, slow down. He's fine. You need to stay in bed or you're going to get sick again."

"But I-"

"No," she said firmly. "Bed."

He sighed, but laid back down. "You really are trying to get me into bed, aren't you, Avatar Korra."

Korra choked on her laughter. "You heard him earlier?"

"'Course I did. I'm drunk, not deaf."

"Are you going to remember that tomorrow?"

"Probably not. Still fuzzy."

Sighing, Korra sat in the bed and looked down at him. "Can I tell you a secret then?"

His eyes closed. "Sure."

She leaned forward. "He wasn't wrong," she whispered.

His eyes flew open. "What?"

"I like you," she said matter-of-factly. "I mean, I'm not trying to _get you in bed_ like that right away or anything, but the spirit of the matter is the same."

He blinked at her. "You do?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I? You're good looking and an excellent fighter. You care a lot about your brother and would do anything for him. You have a lot to offer. You know, once you get past that whole jerk first impression thing you have going for you."

"Bolin and pro-bending are all I've had for as long as I can remember," he said softly, apparently writing off her confession as a drunk delusion.

Korra studied him intently. His face was unguarded for once, and though his eyes were still a little unfocused, it was like they were searching for something that she couldn't see.

"We lost our parents when we were so young," he said. She hung on his every word, eager to learn more about his past, and about _him_. "It was up to me to take care of him. If I couldn't get food, he couldn't eat. If I couldn't find some place to stay, he'd be out in the rain."

She placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it gently. "You're an amazing brother. He's so lucky to have you."

"But is he really? I mean, we're living in this tiny attic, literally fighting for our food. I wonder sometimes if he'd be better off –"

"Of course he wouldn't be, don't even say that," Korra cut him off. "He obviously loves you and wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world!"

"But still," he started again.

"No. No 'but still' and no 'what ifs'. Those never lead anywhere good. Now come on, you should probably try to sleep."

"We're lucky to have you, too," he whispered drowsily. "If we have you at all."

"Of course you do." She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "You'll always have me."

He exhaled and turned his head toward her. "Thank you, Korra."

The next morning, Mako didn't remember a thing, and he had a massive headache. And the spot just above his left eyebrow – where Korra had kissed him – burned in a way he couldn't explain.

"What happened last night?" He wearily asked Bolin over breakfast.

"You got plastered," Bolin replied, spooning up some rice. "Korra took care of you though, she said you might be kind of confused this morning. And that you'd have a killer headache."

"She was right about that." He rubbed the spot that burned, frowning, trying to remember _anything _from the night before.

And then, suddenly he did. He dropped his hand and his jaw fell slack. He remembered a flash of Korra looking down at him with a gentle smile, and then a flash of her lips on his forehead. And snippets of a conversation – _"you're an amazing brother" – "he obviously loves you" – "you'll always have me."_

Mako's cheeks burned red and he spun around to face his brother. "Where is Korra now?"

"She had to go back to the Air Temple, but she'll probably stop by around lunchtime. She said she wanted to check in on you. Why?"

"No reason. Just, ah, wanted to thank her."

Bolin raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?"

"Shut up. Just..eat your breakfast."

As he got ready for the day and ate his own breakfast, Mako made a resolution to himself. There was no turning back after last night, and he couldn't pretend like it hadn't happened, not now that he knew Korra cared for him and he'd opened up to her about his insecurities with Bolin.

Today he was going to tell Korra how he really felt about her.

* * *

_a/n Inspired by the prompt 'Korra has to take care of a drunk Mako, who lets down quite a few of his walls after a few drinks.' _


End file.
